The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Avon grinds past Elyria for hard-fought victory
Eagles senior Tober scores only goal of SWC match
It took a while for one team to break the ice, but it was Avon who scored first against Elyria at Ely stadium on Sep. 8.
Avon (3-2-1) senior Ryan Tober found the back of the Elyria (4-2-1) net with just 12:45 remaining in the game to take the 1-0 lead and never looked back.
“I am happy to get a good result in terms of a win,” Avon coach Chris Dore said. “Elyria worked exceptionally hard to defend so they deserve credit. They made it very difficult for us to not only get shots off but get good shots off and it felt like the goal might come in the first half but it came late in the second half.”
Dore added “It is a good scenario from that standpoint but we would like a little more productivity moving forward.”
Even though the Eagles has some chances in the opening half, the score remained 0-0 heading into halftime, thanks to some incredible goalkeeping by Elyria senior John Freeman.
“John made some incredible saves,” Elyria coach Brett Heighberger said.
“When you struggle to score you start thinking about the last opportunity that you missed and then you start panicking and rushing your attempts,” Dore said. “We need to just get a little more comfortable in front of the goal and understand that you will get another chance.”
That chance came with just under 13 minutes left in the ballgame, with Tober finding a loose ball off of a defection in the box and putting it in the back of the net for the Eagles.
“You have to give a lot of credit to (Avon coach) Chris Dore and the Avon program,” Heighberger said about the Eagles. “They are year in and year out one of the best programs in Northern Ohio and if not all of Ohio.
“Knowing that coming in and knowing that they are going to be very well trained, have excellent skills and good players, we knew that we were going to be in for a tough battle,” Heighberger added.
Even though Elyria lost, there are plenty of lessons and solid takeaways from the Avon match.
“To stay mentally and physically in the match was important for us,” Heighberger said. “I know it wasn’t pretty at times, but we did what we needed to do to frustrate them and come together as a team defensively.
“You grow and you play this well against one of the best teams in Northern Ohio, what can you do against teams that aren’t as good as them or that you will play in the future with some confidence under your belt,” Heighberger said.
For Avon, even though they felt they missed some opportunities offensively, any win is a good win.
“It’s really important,” Dore said about grinding out the close wins. “In this sport you cannot underestimate any opponent and the game can go anyway. There are a lot of tactics involved in soccer and I think this shows a lot of character for us to be disappointed in our inability to score but to still keep fighting and to adjust and keep working at it.”